1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates a connecting/holding machine of a cash container constituting a cash handling machine used for a game machine such as a slot machine, a vending machine, and the like (hereinafter referred to as a game machine and the like), and a connecting/holding unit of a cash container.
2. Related Background Art
A cash handling machine and a bill handling machine have heretofore been used in a game machine and the like. For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-123991) discloses a cash handling machine comprising a cash discriminator for discriminating the validity of cash sent from a cash insertion slot and a cash container for sequentially receiving the cash discriminated to be valid by the cash discriminator. The cash container in this cash handling machine is constituted so as to be detachable from a main body of the cash handling machine so that the cash accumulated inside can be taken out therefrom, and detached from the main body of the cash handling machine to be transported together with the cash.
Furthermore, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-pen No. 2002-92700) discloses a bill handling machine. This bill handling machine has a bill acceptance machine which has a bill recognition machine and is disposed between game machines, a bill payout machine, and a cassette type cashbox detachable from the bill acceptance machine. The cassette type cashbox has storage means capable of storing cashbox discriminating information.
On the other hand, as in the cash container described in the above described Patent Document 1, some of the conventional cash containers use strong materials so that the cash inside the cash container cannot be easily taken out during transporting it, since the cash container can be transported together with the cash. Such kind of cash container has considerable weight, and constituted so as to function as a sort of portable cashbox.
Moreover, in order to prevent the cash therein from being taken out easily during being transported, such kind of cash container is constituted such that an opening/closing lid is automatically locked/unlocked. Motors and solenoids are generally used as power source for locking/unlocking such opening/closing lid. A main body of the cash handling machine and a connecting/holding machine of the cash container to be described later are connected to the power source through a terminal portion for connection, which is provided in the cash container, and power is supplied from its main body and the connecting/holding machine.
Furthermore, in some cases, in order to make it possible afterward to confirm that the cash in the cash container have been lost during the transportation, such kind of cash handling machine recognizes information (cash information) indicating how much cash are accommodated for each kind of cash, by its cash discriminator, and allows the cash container to store this information therein. This cash information is transmitted or communicated to the cash container side from the cash discriminator through terminal portions provided in the main body of the cash handling machine and the cash container, and stored in a nonvolatile memory and the like incorporated in the cash container.
The cash container described above is connected to the connecting/holding machine thereof installed in a cash collection place, whereby the opening/closing lid is unlocked in accordance with an instruction from an information processing machine connected to the connecting/holding machine, and the stored cash information is read out.